New Delhi: Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Reddy combined to steady the ship and keep India on track in their first innings at Tea on Day 3 after the visitors lost centurion KL Rahul immediately post the lunch break. Rahul notched up his 10th Test ton and second at Lord’s as he scored an unbeaten 100 to lead India’s response to England’s first-innings total of 387 runs in the ongoing 3rd Test between the two sides.

However, the right-hander was dismissed on 100 in the next over after edging one to Harry Brook at slip off the bowling of spinner Shoaib Bashir. Jadeja and Reddy then joined hands to share an unbeaten stand of 62 runs for the sixth wicket to guide India to 316/5 at Tea, trailing England’s first-innings total of 387 by only 71 runs.

Jadeja scored an unbeaten 40 off 70 balls, closing in on a well-deserved half-century, while Reddy returned to the dressing room unbeaten on 25 after playing 79 balls at the Tea break. The duo manoeuvred the field well against the England spinners and kept the pacers at bay to complete a half-century stand, helping India go past the 300-run mark in their first innings.

Jofra Archer upped the ante with the ball against the Indian duo and generated some serious pace during his spell post lunch. The pacer even hit Reddy on his helmet with a vicious bouncer, breathing fire with his pace. However, he failed to breach the duo’s defence and get England a crucial breakthrough despite creating pressure.

India still have Washington Sundar in their ranks, however, the onus will be on the settled pair of Jadeja and Reddy to get the visitors past England’s first-innings total of 387 runs and help them accumulate a healthy lead. Sundar’s contributions with the bat will also be crucial for India.

KL Rahul achieves stellar milestone with 2nd Test ton at Lord’s

Earlier, Rahul became the first Indian opener to score multiple Test centuries at Lord’s with his unbeaten 100-run knock against England in the ongoing 3rd Test. It was his second Test ton at the iconic venue after he slammed a brilliant 129-run knock in the Lord’s Test between India and England in 2021. Rahul also became only the 2nd Indian batter after Dilip Vengsarkar to score multiple Test tons at the venue.

Vengsarkar leads the elite list of Indian batters with most Test centuries at Lord’s. The former India batter scored three centuries at the venue in his Test career.